Janet Kayler Conley, born Janet Marian Kayler on 7/3/1941 , D. 7/22/2023
Janet passed away peacefully at her home in Garden City on Saturday, July 22. She was surrounded by her family’s love. Janet was born in Orofino, Idaho and grew up on the Kayler family dairy and wheat farm on Angel Ridge, near Peck. She often told stories of swimming in Big Canyon Creek, naming the milk cows, playing with barn kittens, collecting bugs, helping in the garden and, when she was older, speeding up and down Big Canyon road.
Janet attended grade school in Peck and graduated from Orofino High School in 1959. She was a cheerleader and enjoyed sports and especially swimming on the many beaches that dotted the North Fork of the Clearwater before Dworshak Dam was built. She received a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Idaho in 1963 and was a proud Vandal her whole life. She was a member of Gamma Phi Beta Sorority where she made many lifelong friends. During college she spent her summers working for the U.S. Forest Service in Pierce, Idaho, where she met another summer employee with an amazing number of freckles and a talent for catching cutthroat trout. Jerry was the love of her life, and they married shortly after in Missouri, eventually having a son and daughter, Mark and Wendy.
Janet and Jerry moved with Mark from Missouri to Utah after Jerry finished graduate school, and Janet worked for Morton Thiokol, a rocket engine maker, until Wendy was born. She then devoted herself to raising her children and managing the family through Jerry’s career moves in Iowa and Kansas. After moving to Idaho in 1980 Janet began working as an administrative assistant for the Idaho State Legislature, and then for the Boise School District’s pupil personnel services. Janet and Jerry moved to Missouri for the last five years of his career, before settling in Boise after Jerry’s retirement in 2002. Janet and Jerry loved their camper and boat and spent much of their time traveling the West fishing and camping. In Boise Janet was able to enjoy being near her daughter, Wendy, and her grandchildren, and spent much of her time with Wendy, her husband Eric, and their two boys, Ben and Sam. She traveled frequently and spent time in Seattle to be with her son, Mark, and his wife, Ana, particularly after her grandchildren James and Elena were born. She traveled to Kenya, Tanzania, Belize and Costa Rica with Jerry and friends, and to Panama with Mark’s family to meet Ana’s relatives. Janet helped edit and publish her father’s book about the pioneer days along the Clearwater River. She was always up for fun: gardening, river rafting, skiing, hiking, fly fishing, boating and of course fishing with Jerry. She loved to spend time with her children and grandchildren on the family property near Peck. Sustainable forestry was important to her and she was proud to help manage the timber and wildlife on the property.
Janet also devoted herself to community service. She was an active member of P.E.O. from 1974 until her death and a charter member of P.E.O. Chapter BU in Boise. She regularly volunteered as an election poll worker in Ada County, and at the Assistance League.
After Jerry’s death in 2012 Janet stayed active in PEO, Assistance League, her BUNKO and dominoes group, her book club, met regularly with the Maniac group and enjoyed the company of her friends, neighbors and family. Janet enjoyed talking about current events as much as stories of the past. Her quick wit and sharp mind made her a joy to be around. She was delighted to see her first Grandson, Ben, graduate from University of Idaho in 2020, making him the fifth generation in her family to graduate from the University (Janet was the third).
Janet is survived by her son, Mark and his wife, Ana Crossman, of Seattle, her daughter, Wendy and her husband, Eric McFarland of Boise; her grandchildren Ben and Sam McFarland and James and Elena Conley; her sister, Susan Kayler of Boise; brother-in-law David Conley and his wife Lisa Conley of Jackson, Missouri; her nieces and nephews, Ryan Daley, Alison Daley, Sarah Anello, Adam Conley and Janet’s cat, Flip.
Janet asked that any remembrances be made in her name to support GIST Research at the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute. Checks should be made payable to the OHSU Foundation and mailed to: OHSU Foundation, PO Box 29017, Portland, OR 97296.
A memorial service will be held this Friday, August 11 at the Cathedral of the Rockies, 717 N. 11th St., Boise, Idaho 83702, at 11:00AM. A reception at the church will follow.